Umar Akmal advises Babar Azam ahead of Champions Trophy 2025
'If he’s being trusted as an opener then he should live up to that trust,' says Akmal
KARACHI: Pakistan Test cricketer Umar Akmal on Saturday, offered a piece of advice to star batter Babar Azam ahead of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled to run from February 19 to March 9.
Babar, who is going through a rough patch since his 151-run knock against Nepal in the ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2023, was promoted to the opening slot for the recently concluded tri-nation ODI series and the upcoming eight-team tournament.
The right-handed batter, however, could not excel in the new role as he only managed meagre scores of 10, 23 and 29 in three innings.
Meanwhile, Akmal, while talking on his newly launched YouTube channel, emphasised the need for Babar to live up to the trust shown by the management in his abilities to lead from the front and score big in the upcoming matches.
“Our batter at the top, whom we call King Babar, needs to score big. A lot of responsibility has been fallen on him. He’ll be leading from the front in the Champions Trophy since he’s opening. So, if he’s being trusted as an opener then he should live up to that trust,” said Akmal.
Akmal further questioned white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan’s decision to bat first, highlighting the conditions of Karachi’s National Bank Stadium, which according to the former, favour the team batting second.
“Mohammad Rizwan should have opted to bowl first after winning the toss as the bowl skids in lights at Karachi’s stadium and we would have easily chased whatever the total they post against us.
“So, we can say that this decision of Rizwan went wrong for the Pakistan team.”
Umar Akmal then went on to call for the inclusion of a spinner in Pakistan’s squad for the Champions Trophy 2025 and urged the middle order to step up.
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